<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>they are the prey by bacondestiny</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29990268">they are the prey</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bacondestiny/pseuds/bacondestiny'>bacondestiny</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>we are the hunters [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Gen, will update tags as necessary</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:28:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,366</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29990268</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bacondestiny/pseuds/bacondestiny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One shots taking place within the “we are the hunters” universe. </p>
<p>Ch. 1 - the birds in the heavens - Eren and Mikasa’s first day of school, from Eren’s perspective.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eren Yeager &amp; Zeke Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>we are the hunters [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2206026</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>they are the prey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>[blows raspberry]</p>
<p>The scene Eren describes to Mikasa in chapter 9.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the song Mikasa sings. https://youtu.be/wZqUrvdsVjw </p>
<p>Listen in canon this batshit kid heard her name and was ready to commit double homicide for her—this isn’t too much of a stretch.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eren does <em>not</em> want to be here. </p>
<p>It is sunny and warm and the birds are singing, today is the kind of day that should be spent running through the streets and splashing in the creek. He could be helping Mama with errands or Daddy with mixing medicines or Zeke with the goats. But no. Now he has to stand in this stupid line with Zeke so he can go to <em>school. </em>It’s terrible. </p>
<p>He knows some of the kids—there’s Jonas and Hans and Luis, the group he usually plays with, and he recognizes Ruth ‘cause she’s always in the shoemaker’s whenever Mama visits with Mrs. Kline, but most of the kids are unfamiliar. Most of ‘em have got soot on their clothes like they’ve been rolling around in a fireplace. He bets their mamas and daddies are miners. Being a miner seems fun, but Daddy says it’s hard and boring and dangerous and that Eren’s gotta be the doctor one day. Eren thinks he’d rather help Zeke with the goat farm, but he likes smashing herbs alright, so he guesses he’ll have to see. </p>
<p>“Zeke,” Eren says, tugging on his hand. “How come I’ve gotta go to school?”</p>
<p>“So you can learn,” he says, eyes on the desk where the ladies are writing down stuff people tell them. </p>
<p>“Learn what?” he complains. </p>
<p>“How to read, how to write, how to count. History. A lot about coal.”</p>
<p>“I don’t hafta know ‘bout coal,” he says. “Daddy says I’m gonna be the doctor.”</p>
<p>“He told me the same thing, kiddo, and look how that turned out.” Zeke smiles down at him. “It’ll be good for you, I promise. You’ll make friends and do fun activities and you can tell me all about the stuff you learn.”</p>
<p>Eren frowns. “I thought you already went to school.”</p>
<p>“I did. But it was a long time ago. I bet I’ve forgotten stuff. Maybe they’ll teach you some stuff about goats.”</p>
<p>“Hm.” Eren squints at the school building. “I’ll ask.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Zeke says. “You’re a real one.”</p>
<p>“But why can’t I go next year? A lot of kids don’t start ‘til next year!”</p>
<p>“Because Mom and Dad want you to go this year.”</p>
<p>“Why?” </p>
<p>“Ask them when you get home.”</p>
<p>Eren stomps. “I <em>wanna—”</em> he breaks off. Then he points. “Who’s that?”</p>
<p>“Hm? Don’t point, Eren, that’s rude.”</p>
<p>“But <em>who’s that?”</em> he insists. “The beautiful girl with the shiny buttons!”</p>
<p>Zeke crouches down next to him and follows his finger to the front of the school, where the kids who have already checked in are waiting. “Oh, my God,” he says. “The little girl with the black hair?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Eren whispers. He feels like he needs to keep this a secret. </p>
<p>Zeke was right—the girl Eren is staring at is the only one with black hair. It’s even darker than Daddy’s or Mama’s; he’s never seen anyone with hair so dark. She’s wearing a long pinkish dress with shiny buttons all up the front. The buttons aren’t as shiny as her black hair, though, which is tied half-back from her face with two blue bows. She’s prettier than any girl he’s ever seen, <em>including</em> Mama or the picture of Zeke’s mama. </p>
<p>“That’s Mikasa Ackerman,” Zeke tells him. “Her brother stole my girlfriend, you know.”</p>
<p>“Huh? How’d he steal her?”</p>
<p>“When the bastard sings,” Zeke says, “Even the birds stop and listen.” He shakes his head. “I couldn’t compete.”</p>
<p>Eren nods, thinking hard. “She’s beautiful.”</p>
<p>Zeke snorts. “Alright, kiddo. She’s from Victor’s Village, so keep your hands to yourself or her brother will whup your butt.”</p>
<p>Eren doesn’t even rise to the bait, he’s so starstruck. The beautiful girl—<em>Mikasa</em>—darts through the crowd, and he sees her come through a moment later running with a tiny girl with yellow hair. Eren watches their game of tag, wishing that he could split from Zeke and go play with them, but by the time they get registered, it’s time to go into the classrooms. </p>
<p>There are two kindergartens, and Eren is sad to find out that he and Mikasa aren’t in the same class. The boy who sits at his table with him is called Armin, and he’s the baker’s son. He brought cookies for the whole class, and he gives Eren two; Eren decides that Armin is his best friend for the rest of his life right then and there. </p>
<p>After homeroom, where they all sit in a circle and say their names and favorite animals (Eren Jaeger, bears), there’s an assembly for all the new kindergarteners. Their teacher, Mrs. Scmidt, leads them to the cafeteria where they all sit down on the floor. The windows are open, letting in the sunshine and birdsong and the smell of wildflowers and coal. Their teachers talk for awhile, about boring stuff, while Eren tries to get Armin to whisper with him about bugs. He’s not paying attention at all until his teacher asks if anybody knows the valley song, and a small pale hand shoots up from near the front. </p>
<p>Eren gasps when the other teachers says, “Alright, Mikasa, come on up, sweetheart,” and Mikasa Ackerman stands, smoothing her skirt, and skips to the front of the room. Mrs. Schmidt has her stand on a stool, and as she clambers up on top of it Eren can see that her knees are all scratched up, like his. </p>
<p>“That’s Mikasa Ackerman,” Eren whispers to Armin. </p>
<p>“I know,” Armin whispers back. “Her brother won the Hunger Games seven years ago.”</p>
<p>Eren’s eyes nearly fall out of his head. “Zeke didn’t tell me <em>that.”</em></p>
<p>“What’d he tell you, then?” </p>
<p>“He told me—” Eren begins, but then Mikasa starts singing and he forgets what he was going to say, along with a couple of other things, like his name and where he is. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Down in the valley, the valley so low,<br/>
Late in the evening, hear the train blow,<br/>
The train, love, hear the train blow,<br/>
Late in the evening, hear the train blow.”</em>
</p>
<p>The world has gone silent in deference to Mikasa’s singing. Her voice is a <em>million</em> times prettier than her face, which should be <em>impossible. </em>Nobody else is whispering anymore, all their little mouths open. Even the teachers look surprised. </p>
<p><em>“Go build me a mansion,”</em> she sings, and Eren wants to, he wants to bolt up off this dirty floor and start gathering sticks. <em>“Build it so high,</em></p>
<p>
  <em>So I can see my true love go by,<br/>
See him go by, love, see him go by,<br/>
So I can see my true love go by.”</em>
</p>
<p>Eren’ll do that. He’ll build her a mansion and he’ll—he’ll chop her firewood and he’ll catch her fish in the river and he’ll be the true love that she watches go by. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Go write a letter, send it by mail,<br/>
Bake it and stamp it to the high city jail,<br/>
High city jail, love, high city jail,<br/>
Bake it and stamp it to the high city jail.”</em>
</p>
<p>Her voice is clear and high, and she makes every word sound <em>important.</em> Each one hits Eren squarely in the chest, burrowing down inside him and curling up in his heart. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Roses are red, love, violets are blue,</em><br/>
<em>Birds in the heavens know I love you,</em><br/>
<em>Know I love you, oh, know I love you,”</em> 
</p>
<p>Eren’s heart drums loudly in his temples. <em>When the bastard sings, even the birds stop to listen,</em> Zeke’d said. </p>
<p>Mikasa stands on a stool, looking at all of them. The buttons on her dress and the ribbons tied in bows and her inky black hair all shine in the later summer sunshine. Her small hands are tucked behind her back and she’s rocking back and forth on her clean white shoes, and the birds outside have been silent for a long time now.</p>
<p>Maybe he’s just imagining it, but he thinks her wide gray eyes land on him when she sings the last words: </p>
<p><em>“The birds in the heavens know I love you.”</em> </p>
<p>For a heartbeat, then two, the world stays completely silent. Then the birds outside burst into song again, mimicking Mikasa’s voice, and distantly Eren thinks, <em>They do. </em></p>
<p>He thinks, <em>I do.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>did I realistically get into the head of a five year old boy? probably not. But this was fun for me to write and the lyrics to this song are SO PRETTY. Also “Go build me a mansion” hits different after 138. </p>
<p>Hope you enjoyed this!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>